The Clans of Darkness Challenges
by weirdo.cat
Summary: These challenges are for the Clans of Darkness forum. They are only short snippets of stories, not full on stories I'm working on.
1. First Battle

(None of this is canon within the forum.)

A freezing cold breeze swirled around Lightpaw, his pale cream colored fur ruffling in the aggressive winds. He shoved himself closer to his fellow apprentices, their warmth the only thing keeping him alive as they huddled within the hollowed out log. He opened one of his pale yellow eyes to see a figure pad towards him. He opened his eyes completely when he noticed it was his mentor, Thistleclaw.

He crawled out of the log and into the far more unforgiving Leaf-bare surroundings of what appeared to be endless white. He looked up towards his mentor whom had a fierce look across his muzzle as he spoke up in a demanding tone. "Come. We are going to battle against DarkClan. Grab your friend, Pinepaw, and let's go!" Lightpaw nodded his head before he turned and prodded at his friend's sides. Her deep green eyes opened as she let out a groan of annoyance. "I'm sleeping, Lightpaw. Leave me alone." He scowled towards her, his pale yellow eyes hostile. "C'mon, Pinepaw. Thistleclaw said that we were going to battle with DarkClan." She perked at this and immediately ran out of the hollowed trunk, running over Lightpaw in the process before he bounded after her.

As the two apprentices reached the gathering group of warriors, Lightpaw noticed that GrimClan's leader, Honeystar, was in front giving a speech and also looking prepared for battle. "Our way of life has been threatened! Our peace has been threatened. DarkClan does not think that compassion is powerful. Instead, they see it as a weakness!" The leader silenced as the surrounding cats began to murmur some with panic hidden in their whispered voices. As the cats began to settle down, Honeystar spoke up once again. "I have gathered all of you for this battle, and we shall all fight honorably. Is that clear!" Yowls of approval rose around the leader as he stood and trotted off towards the opposing clan's territory, aggression rushing through Lightpaw's blood as he ran after the warriors and leader willingly.

Pinepaw ran beside him, her deep, winter green eyes determined rather than fiery like his sunlight colored eyes. The scent of DarkClan seemed to grow as their leader continued to lead them onward. It wasn't long that the strong hatred from the surrounding wind cutting into his pelt seemed to settle as they reached the DarkClan territory. He blindly followed the scents of his clan, his head low and blinded by the fierce cold of his surroundings. A yowl for war sounded off as the strongest of GrimClan slid into the cavern and began clawing at every cat they could fight with.

As the battle went on, Lightpaw noticed that his friend was no where to be seen. He ignored this for the time being as he knew that Pinepaw could take care of herself. He leaped at a powerful looking warrior, their scent that of a senior warrior as it curled with pure aggression and hatred for anything but their leader.

Before he could get a decent hold on the senior warrior, he felt the breath be crushed out of him. He tried to get a claw hold onto the fierce warrior that had pinned him to the ground, only managing to flounder around uselessly. As he continued on this pathetic plan, sharp, pointed fangs were slowly closing around his neck. Before the fangs could snap his neck, he felt the bulky weight fall off of him. He sat up, his vision blurred and dizzy, and as his vision cleared, he saw Pinepaw battling fiercely with the senior warrior. He attempted to stand so he could help her, but before he could do anything, he watched as she was thrown off of the warrior's back by another of DarkClan and against a wall, blood falling from her neck.

Everything seemed to slow around him as he gawked towards Pinepaw's limp body as it fell to the ground. After a few attempts, he finally managed to stand and limp towards her. He lowered his head as tears welled up in his eyes. "Pinepaw? Pinepaw? Come one. Get up." He rubbed his face against his dear friend, her body still faintly warm from the battle she had taken part in as her blood mixed with his. He closed his pained eyes, his ears low as he completely forgot about everything happening around him. He let his tears fall gently across his cheek fur, his pale golden eyes seemingly gray from the loss of Pinepaw. "I. . . I'm sorry. I should have done better to. . . to protect you."

He sat, the trills of battle a far away echo as all he thought about was his friend. "This is my fault. . . All. . . all my fault." He felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck that soon faded as his vision was swarmed with blackness. He fell to the ground, everything blurring around him into nothingness until a familiar scent reached his nostrils. His eyes slowly closed, his pelt relaxing as the comforting scent of evergreen trees flowed warmly into his nose. He opened his eyes to see the feuding had disappeared and reformed into a peaceful blanket of a cool, misty blue glow as the warmest yet coolest of grasses reached out as far as he could see. A wide array of cats stood in front of him, but the one he noticed the most was a winter green eyed she-cat with a beautiful, dark brown coat covered in black stripes. "Pinepaw?"


	2. My Loyalties

(None of this is canon within the forum.)

Goldenice stared out across the bare lands of BrokenClan's territory, her eyes filled with curiosity. Her amber eyes laced with an icy blue grazed across the grassy moor until her attention was interrupted by Nightclaw. "Goldenice! Come on. You're coming hunting with us." She turned to see Nightclaw standing in front of two other cats, a dark brown tabby she-cat with grassy green eyes named Flintpelt and a small black tom with gray eyes named Oaklog. She stood and began padding towards the group, her eyes sparkling with the thought of being across the moorland again.

Once she had reached the group, they turned and headed out, the pale gray tabby with bright green eyes known as Nightclaw in the lead. The land around them had hardly any hiding space, allowing them to keep sight of possible enemies easily but it also didn't help them hide from prey. Though, that didn't matter in the slightest as the cats of BrokenClan were experts on this terrain in which they called home.

Not too far off, Goldenice scented a thrush and immediately began stalking towards it. Once she had it in sight, she pounced and quickly killed it. As she continued on hunting, she noticed how far she had wandered from the rest of the group. She began to turn to head back to the group until she felt a sudden tug in her chest in the opposite direction of the lands beyond the territory. She looked back to see the other three cats of her clan beginning to gather and what appeared to be them searching for her.

She ignored their searching eyes, not noticing as one began to run towards her. She scented the edge of the territory, her gold and blue laced eyes glittering with excitement as she placed a single paw over the boundary. Before she could go any farther, she heard a vicious yowl from someone behind her. She turned to look behind her only to see Flintpelt charging towards her until she was right on top of Goldenice, her breath harsh against the smaller she-cat's skin as a growl rumbled low in her throat. "And what do you think _you're_ doing."

All Goldenice could do was look up at her clan mate fearfully, silenced due to panic. The larger brown tabby she-cat clawed and bit at the smaller calico she-cat until Goldenice was immobilized for a short time. At that point, she felt her surroundings become numb as she could hardly feel that she was being picked up and dragged across the ragged landscape.

It felt like it had been moons until Goldenice felt her breath become knocked out of her after having been tossed gruffly to the ground. Her blurry vision looked up in front of her where she could see the leader of her clan, a vicious looking white tabby tom with horrifying green eyes. Whitestar, the leader, raised his head further in a show of rage and power as he spoke in a threatening growl. "Flintpelt has told me what you attempted to do, traitor. You have clearly shown you can no longer be trusted, and thus, as the proper punishment, you must be killed."

She looked up at him with terror in her eyes as she curled into a ball. "Please. Let me live. Let me stay. I promise that I won't try to wander off again." Despite her attempt to reason with the bitter leader, in which he refused, she bent to a last resort in which she quickly leaped towards him and killed Whitestar in a single bite to the neck. Everyone around her seemed to back away with anxiety glistening in their eyes, Goldenice's maw dripping with the fresh crimson blood of the previous leader. She curled her lips into a wicked smile as she felt a sudden surge of power engulf her like a flame throughout a forest. "Everyone bow to me, you're new leader, Goldenstar!" Everyone did as she asked as the overwhelming amount of power seemed to curl in her blood.

Her smile grew wider as she saw her fellow clan mates cower in fear before her eyes landed on Flintpelt. "You. You, _Flintpelt_ , tried to get me killed, and I think that I should do the same for you. Just. . . as a way of sharing my emotions of inevitable doom with you." The larger she-cat cowered in fear even more, her tail curled tightly around her frame as the blood covered she-cat now known as Goldenstar padded towards her slowly. "But. . . I will show you mercy. Something that _Whitestar_ , as you saw, didn't show me." With tears in her eyes, Flintpelt looked up at her new leader, a hint of hope and fresh loyalty burning deep within. Goldenstar bent down and pressed her muzzle to the larger she-cat's pelt, a sudden urge to protect the clan unlike any other slowly trickling into her blood.

She turned and looked towards her clan after she had wiped the blood from her face and her golden and blue eyes looked out across the group. "From now on, I, Goldenstar, will show all of you mercy by giving you all second chances in life. Whatever mistakes you may make, I will forgive you for them with time. As long as you remain loyal to BrokenClan, that is." She leaped onto the large boulder that Whitestorm used to address the clan, her eyes fierce and powerful like his had been, though with far more balance in them. "But, that does not mean that I will go soft on you! Just because I show some restraint in murder doesn't mean that I won't do it." At this, the rest of the clan bowed once again, clearly trying to do their best to stay on the new leader's good side and succeeding by the way her eyes glittered with amusement.

But, after a few moons of ruling over her new clan, Goldenstar returned to her previous state of wishing for adventure. She let out a long sigh as she leaped onto the boulder and looked around at her clan as she debated whether she should stay or not. "I could feel the wind constantly blowing across my fur, or I could stay and make this clan stronger than it has ever been before. Do I remain loyal but trapped, or do I go free but alone?"

She let out a tired sigh as she watched Flintpelt pad towards her and speak up rather nervously. "Goldenstar? What's the matter?" The calico leader looked down, her eyes hostile for a minute before she turned her golden blue gaze to a melted softness. "No. . . I am unsure as to whether I should stay and continue leading you or if I should leave and go on an adventure." The midnight brown she-cat before her looked shocked for a second before her gaze transformed into a thoughtfulness. After a few quiet seconds with nothing but the surrounding cats muttering in low voices and the curl of the wind swarming around Goldenstar's ears before the she-cat in front of her spoke up. "Well. . . the clan needs you. You've turned into the greatest leader any of the clans have ever seen. DarkClan and GrimClan fear BrokenClan now. Where would we be without you? Back at square one where we feared our leader rather than praised her?"

Goldenstar narrowed her eyes even farther, causing Flintpelt to crouch low to the ground fearfully. She closed her gold blue eyes, her head rising some before she let out a deep breath and opened her eyes to glare down towards the she-cat that was low to the ground. "You're right, Flintpelt. Because of me, I have made this clan more powerful than it ever has been. I will stay." She leaped down in front of the brown tabby as she began to stand up slowly and nervously. She smiled towards the grass eyed she-cat before speaking in a far softer and friendlier voice. "Thank you, Flintpelt. You are an honorable cat, and one of my closest senior warriors. If I decide not to have kits, you will be next in line to be leader."


	3. Invisible

(None of this is canon within the forum.)

Missingtail lay in the medicine den, bored to death and the sensation of loneliness hanging over his head. He sighed as he sat up, looking out at his clan mates to see how they were mingling with one another. Ever since he had been injured as a kit, he was ignored by everyone it seemed. When he had become an apprentice, the only cat that would ever speak to him was his mentor even though they kind of had to. Now, though, he had already completed his apprenticeship and no one ever talks to him now, or even recognizes him. Instead, the only times anyone acknowledged his existence was to get their wounds treated or an illness cured, and that's only when his former mentor, Deadeye, wasn't around which was rare. Other than that, he was pretty much invisible.

He stood and shook out his pelt before stretching with an exhausted yawn. He padded over to the organized herbs, looking through each and every one. He sighed, knowing that he wouldn't have the excuse to hunt for himself as he was currently stocked up on herbs. As he was about to leave, he heard someone come in; it was Shadowmist. She tended to get into a lot of fights with the other cats, but her injuries weren't those of other cats and she reeked of badger.

He grabbed the necessary herbs to treat her before sending her on her way, slight excitement intermingling with his panic about there being a badger nearby. He padded out of his den and looked around the DarkClan camp, most of the cats missing from the cave. Once he knew most everyone wasn't around, he padded out of the den; though, he most likely wouldn't have been noticed even if all the clan were around staring at him. They just seemed to purposely ignore him after having his tail clawed off by a badger when he was just a kit. They acted as if he should have been able to kill the creature rather than simply cower. The other kits had perished during the attack because of their brave stupidity while he was still alive and completely unrecognized.

As he left, he followed the bloody scent trail of Shadowmist to the badger's location, his stubby tail quivering with slight anxiety. As he finally found the creature's lair, he saw it eating a cat nearby; a cat from his own clan named Brokenfang. He felt no sorrow for the dead cat, as he had simply been one of many that ignored Missingtail. Instead, the medicine cat simply searched for a specific mark on the badger as it ate, its fangs digging deep into the deceased cat's soft flesh and nostrils flaring with the delight from the scent of the blood.

Missingtail lurked nearby, crouched and searching desperately for the markings he was looking for before eventually finding them; a twisted face that was half covered by burns and an empty eye socket where the being's right eye had once been.

The medicine cat stayed low to the ground, his stubby tail twitching as he easily recognized the badger that had chewed his tail to pieces. He tried desperately to hold back a hiss of rage and hatred as he stayed where he was, waiting for the badger to finish eating its meal. When he noticed the badger licking its claws and jaws, he padded out to the creature. Instead of being stealthy, he simply walked out from his hiding spot to stand directly in front of it. The badger quickly noticed him and let out a vicious growl, its fangs bared and glittering beneath the trickles of sunlight. It stayed where it was for a while, seeming to study the cat with its single eye thoughtfully as if it recognized him as the kit it had attempted to kill moons ago.

After some time of curiosity, the badger leaped towards the medicine cat with a deep growl of rage, but ended up landing no where close to Missingtail. The medicine cat sighed as he noticed the deep gashes made by the cats of DarkClan, a gleam of interest and slight pity entering the cat's heart. He stood and searched for herbs to help the badger, uncaring that he was helping the dangerous creature. Instead, he felt a lot like it; cast out and uncared for.

He searched around the area, keeping the badger in sight as he collected the items that would help prevent infection and slow bleeding. Once he had collected all the necessary supplies, he padded back over to the badger and applied them to the creatures black and white pelt that was matted with a dried crimson color from its own blood and the blood of its prey. The creature was, at first, tense and nervous, but eventually relaxed as its wounds seemed to no longer burn with agony. The badger then yawned once Missingtail had applied the last of the herbs and cobwebs, and the large creature then walked over to the medicine cat and nuzzled him.

Missingtail let out a small huff of delight at this as he let the badger nuzzle him lovingly. "Well, it's better than being ignored."

The medicine cat let out a yawn as he stood to leave, the sun setting and leaving its bloody crimson touch to spread across the corrupt land. As he began to pad away, the badger began to follow. He then gained an interesting idea as he lead the badger to the camp. He let a smug grin as any cats that were still awake in the cave gawked with shock at the vicious creature that stood next to the rarely noticed Missingtail. The leader, Frozenstar, looked over towards the unusual friendship, her eyes sharp and aggressive. "Why have you brought that _thing_ here?" Instead of yowling for the cats of the clan to attack, she let her curiosity get in the way of things.

Missingtail laughed at his leader's death sentence, not replying to the leader as he motioned for the badger to attack. It did so willingly, killing the leader swiftly as she wasn't even able to scream for help or tell anyone to attack the creature. Afterwards, it stood on guard as it tore into the leader's flesh, regal blood dripping from its powerful jaws.

While the badger ate, the medicine cat spoke up to the rest of the clan. "Does everyone recognize me now?"


	4. Not the Only One

(None of this is canon within the forum.)

Daisypetal lay in the warm sunlight as he looked out across the flat lands, dapples of willow trees could be seen in the distance of the marshy lands. He yawned, his tail twitching with exhaustion as the heat of the sun pulsed across his pelt, warming it and making him feel drowsy from the lazy warmth. Before he could manage to fall into a lulling sleep, he pricked his head and ears at the sound of a clan meeting being called by Nightstar.

The warrior stood and padded over to the GrimClan leader, her eyes filled with an unsettling calm. He looked on with a bored expression, expecting her to declare war against one of the other clans again as she was constantly paranoid that spies were being sent into their own clan even though no such thing was occurring. He yawned just as the meeting was starting, the rest of the clan finally gathered around.

As he stared on dully towards the leader, his ears were perked and attentive in case his name was called for some reason. "Cats of GrimClan! We have a deceiver among us. One who is a spy for DarkClan!" Not a sound was spoken as everyone simply looked on with the same tired and bored expression that Daisypetal held. Nightstar's face curled into a vicious snarl, her eyes' calmness growing into pure hatred as she continued on with her speech. "This spy is a foolish apprentice."

The cream colored warrior looked back, his expression turning worried as all the apprentices tensed with anxiety. He refocused his attention on the leader, his eyes now showing how active he was with listening to her words. "This apprentice is Littlepaw!" Everyone began to murmur as they looked back to the largest of the apprentices. She was kneading the ground nervously as she flattened her tiny ears against her head some, her eyes wide with panic. But, it wasn't the panic of a guilty cat; it was the panic of a cat that knew how corrupt and insane Nightstar was.

As Daisypetal looked around at the others, he noticed many were showing off the same nervous habits while others created other, similar habits. While most seemed to panic, none spoke up. Sooner or later, a tom named Fireclaw spoke up in a fierce uncaring tone; he was a senior warrior, so Nightstar would most likely listen to what he had to say. "I say we kill that little rat immediately! We can't have her running off and telling whatever clan she's spying for anything important!" After he said this, many of the other cats yowled a loud agreement, despite most still holding a hint of nervousness in their eyes.

At first, the warrior thought about staying silent, but decided against it as he knew most of the clan felt the same way he did. "That's utterly ridiculous! Littlepaw wouldn't do such a thing! She's been a loyal cat to this clan ever since she was a kit!"

Instead of hearing the same yowls of agreement that Fireclaw had received, there was only silence before Nightstar broke it with her calm, aggressive voice. "Well, well, well. Looks like we have _another_ spy in this clan."

Everyone stayed silent, leaving Daisypetal to look around at his clan mates nervously. He stood his ground, his voice quavering with fresh panic now that they were accusing him of spying. "W-wait! I-I would never do such a thing! Surely. . . surely you all don't believe such nonsense!"

Before anyone could reply, the horrible leader spoke up once again. "You see! He admits he is a spy! He thinks me foolish!" At that, there were murmurs once again, debate about what was happening and what will happen.

Daisypetal simply gawked as no one spoke up for neither him nor Littlepaw. He backed away some, mistrust running across his pelt and coiling around his mind. He looked from cat to cat, some looking sorrowful and apologetic towards him, others looked away from his blue eyes, and some just glared at him with mistrust.

When he found that none would speak the truth, he ran and nudged for Littlepaw to follow. As the two ran across the moor, he heard the vicious, angry yowl of Nightstar. "Get them! Kill them!" Soon, paw steps could be heard pounding after them, slowly gaining on the two, their breath sharp and quick with fear. Before they could cross over into another clan's territory for possible safety, the senior warriors that were chasing them caught up and surrounded them. Before the warrior could help the apprentice escape, Fireclaw delivered a swift kill to the young she-cat.

Daisypetal stood in shock before flinging him at the tom out of pure rage, digging his claws into the senior warrior until he fell limp. The others immediately leaped at the lower ranked warrior, allowing him to flee amidst the chaos of the battling senior warriors.

As he was nearing the scent line out of GrimClan, he heard a yowl of outrage. Before he could manage to cross the border, he felt a sharp pain land squarely on his shoulders as he was pinned to the ground. He looked up, the pain of claws digging into his back causing him to grit his teeth with agony. When he saw who had trapped him, his eyes widened with panic; it was Nightstar. Before he could let out a yowl to plead for mercy, he felt her vicious fangs dig into his neck. As he slowly became unconscious, the leader whispered something vaguely in his ear. "No traitor lives."


End file.
